Tunnel Creek #841
Jul 06, 2001
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Tunnel Creek
- Region: Olympics -- East
- Agency: Olympic National Forest, Quilcene Ranger District
- Trails: Tunnel Creek (#841)
- Avg Rating: 3.12
This is the third time I've done this trail. The first time, a few years ago, we were fortunate to have clear weather and were able to take advantage of the spectacular views. Last year, by the time we reached the ridgetop, everything disappeared in deep fog. Again, on this Friday, we were disappointed as the clouds never lifted enough to get the full view of Mount Constance. Nonetheless, we did get a nice view of the Dosewallip valley and Puget Sound beyond. The hike is very strenuous after crossing the creek at 2.7 miles. The forest and creek are exceptionally beautiful. The trail beyond the creek crossing (on a log bridge)has been greatly improved. It is still terribly steep, but the trailwork we observed as we hiked last year has made it better--lots of carefully placed stones and log steps in some of the worst spots. You reach Harrison Lake in another mile and then it's about another .4 of a mile up to the ridge. From the ridgetop you can take a faint waytrail that takes off to the right and follow it along to reach the highest point of the ridge, climbing a small peak steeply through heather and beargrass. We ate our lunch at the top (ca. 5400 feet)and looked at the bottom 2/3 of Constance. We only saw a few people all day and the hike gave us the sense of solitude and quiet we longed for when we climbed Mount Townsend last Saturday and experienced what felt like a mob scene.
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
